Just Touring Around
by Simple-Minded Idiot
Summary: Put together two demons, one not so normal human, and an elf, and what do you get? The adventure of a lifetime! Or, well, a series of events and circumstances that are pretending to be adventures. [Eventual NaruSasuNaru]
1. Chapter 1

Warnings (seriously, you have to consider these) : Inanity, ramblings, forced humor (though if it doesn't seem forced to you... please do tell me as I am currently spazzing out), OOCness, and somewhat plotlessness. There are also Japanese words (there are translations at the end). An... overusage (?) of Japanese words.

It'll eventually become a NaruSasu. Eventually, of course.

This is somewhat a twisted fairytale.

* * *

Chapter 1 – Uchiha-kimi : Runaway 

It was midnight in the powerful Oto-oukoku. The moon was full and bright and beautiful. The stars were out and could be seen clearly. The sky truly was a wonder to behold this night. The grasshoppers' legs were making those nightly sounds that they were a bit famous for, the nightly counterparts of cicadas. The frogs in the ponds were croaking. Fireflies could be seen flitting about in the riverbanks. Not many were able to see the beauty that could be seen during midnight. Most of them were all asleep, tucked up in their beds or in wherever they slept.

It was only nine hours before the big and much publicized wedding between the king of this insanely powerful and domineering kingdom, Kaimei Orochimaru, and the youngest of King Uchiha Fugaku's sons, Sasuke.

Fugaku-ou's oldest son and the crown prince of Uchiha-oukoku, Itachi-kimi, had been rather enraged at the idea that his younger and extremely-reluctant-with-marriage-and-other-things-related-to-that brother was going to marry a man like Orochimaru-ou but had kept this to himself. He would intervene if things got out of hand or if the marriage really would happen.

Itachi-kimi and Orochimaru-ou had never been that close. In fact, one could even say that Itachi-kimi loathed the man with the intensity of a hundred stars. Orochimaru-ou, on the other hand, was a bit angry, yet admiring, at the boy because of the _pretty eyes_ that he possessed. Itachi-kimi just knew that the old man wanted to marry his brother for revenge. He really did wish that he hadn't pissed off Orochimaru-ou so much in the dinner they'd both attended five months ago. There was that and that Orochimaru-ou wanted his pretty younger brother all for himself. That man... was going to defile his brother! Itachi-kimi just knew it. But he also knew that his father wouldn't believe him, despite being the favorite son and all, so, as stated above, he just kept it to himself.

He knew that his father didn't like Sasuke-kimi that much and so, was rather willing to... _give him away_. Honestly, Itachi-kimi didn't know how Sasuke-kimi could be hated. Sure, his foolishness might be irritating, but it was also rather adorable and endearing. Besides, shouldn't their father be happy that he got two genius sons instead of just one? That man was asking for too much.

Sasuke-kimi and Itachi-kimi's mother, Mikoto-oukou, hadn't seen all of that tension between Itachi-kimi and Orochimaru-ou or the reluctance of Sasuke-kimi to get married. She just saw the positive things. She was happy that her youngest was finally going to get married despite the custom for the eldest to get married before the youngest. She truly was a nice and innocent woman. Itachi-kimi sometimes wished that she wasn't. Then she could've done something to stop this insanity.

Orochimaru-ou, on the other hand, was ecstatic about the marriage. Almost everyone knew that he lusted after poor little Sasuke-kimi ever since he set sights on the boy. Which was a year ago, when the boy was fifteen-years-old. Yes, Orochimaru-ou_ was_ a bit of a pedophile and he loved beautiful things a lot.And Fugaku-ou only saw that this lust of Orochimaru-ou could benefit the Uchiha-oukoku. Oto was known for their unrivaled army and excellent defenses. Once his son got married to Orochimaru-ou, the two kingdoms would be alliances and then he, too, could get his hands on what the Oto-oukoku had.

Tough luck for him, then. Orochimaru-ou was not someone to share. Well, except perhaps with Sasuke-kimi. He could never refuse that, quote, _delectable piece of untouched ass_, end quote, anything. In fact, he pampered his cute little virgin soon-to-be-wife/husband. Made sure that the boy was always the pretty boy that almost everyone wanted to have a go at. That also meant that Orochimaru-ou made Sasuke-kimi do nothing all day but just act all pretty-pretty and stuff. Oh, yeah, and model these cute clothes.

Everyone knew that Orochimaru-ou was into cosplay or, rather, cross-dressing (other people, of course). Everyone also had a hunch that that particular _fetish_ was a result of hanging around Sasori-danna, the best damn puppeteer in the whole world who lived in Suna-oukoku. But quite frankly, nobody was dead set on arguing with Orochimaru-ou. Sasuke-kimi _did_ look quite cute in those costumes. Like that amazingly short French maid outfit that had blood spurting out of noses in seconds.

Everyone also knew that Sasuke-kimi did not want to be Orochimaru-ou's wife/husband. The pretty prince, as far as everybody knew, was asexual, much like his older brother, and if he was to marry, he certainly wouldn't get stuck with someone who was, like, forty years older than him or something, even if the aforementioned person was very handsome. Which Orochimaru-ou clearly was. In a wee bit eerie way though.

"Like fuck I'm getting married to that wrinkled old man," Sasuke muttered.

Not that Orochimaru-ou actually _was_ wrinkled. He had smooth and pale skin. Deathly pale, especially what with that black hair of his. Sasuke was secretly scared of the man and his love of snakes. _Intense_ love of snakes, mind you. He wouldn't admit to that though. He had his Uchiha pride.

Ah, Sasuke. He was wearing a black, ankle-length overcoat that had a hood, black boots, and dark-tinted glasses. Underneath that was black baggy pants and a black, long-sleeved, turtle-neck sweater-like shirt, on top of which was a dark blue, v-neck shirt. It was, after all, a rather chilly evening.

He was also carrying a small bag that was filled with his most important belongings and all of his wardrobe. How did he manage to fit his humongous wardrobe there? Easy! They were in a capsule, of course! Oto-oukoku was very advanced in their technology, too.

He sat on the railing of the balcony, then began to scale down the wall. Orochimaru-ou had put a lot of guards where Sasuke-kimi was, afraid that someone would dare to go inside his beloved's room, but Sasuke-kimi had managed to memorize the schedules and the habits of his guards and so, he managed to get through all of them quite easily despite Oto-oukoku being known for its defenses. Then again, Sasuke-kimi was a very clever boy. Not to mention he was also pretty strong for a pampered prince and it was all thanks to Itachi-kimi.

He soon got to the damned wall, climbed it, and when he got to the top, he made a great leap towards the ground, easily passing the moat which surrounded the whole palace... which wasn't really easy to do if you weren't an elite fighter, or something like that, like Sasuke, seeing as the moat was around nine meters or so.

Once he reached the ground, he began running to the nearest exit. Luckily, Orochimaru-ou had never thought of putting walls around his kingdom. Something about it being far too vast and such. Unluckily though, the nearest exit within arm's reach was a forest. It was called The Forest of Death because the translations were far too troublesome as _no_ could also be mistaken for the usual, English **no**.

There was a reason why the forest was called like that, and Sasuke was one of the many people who happened to know. It wasn't as if it was some sort of secret or anything. The story was quite well-known.

Many things happened in The Forest of Death. Many _unusual_ things. Some even said that it was haunted or that demons inhabited it. Sasuke, of course, thought that that was utter bull, but it wouldn't hurt to be careful, right?

* * *

It was around three in the morning when he finally reached the entrance to the forest. By then, he was already pretty tired but he wanted to be sure that no perverted, snake-loving pedophiles were on his tail. That, or the aforementioned pedophiles' many followers. Sasuke swore that those idiots followed Orochimaru-ou with blind faithfulness. He bet that they'd even jump to their deaths if Orochimaru-ou wished it. He was probably right. 

Not to mention he had gotten quite hot. Running for hours tended to do that. Though that was easily fixed when he took off his heavy coat and slung it on his shoulder, knowing that he'd soon feel the cold after a while. Winters in Oto-oukoku and its neighbors were fierce. Probably reflecting their leaders.

So Sasuke pushed his limits in order to escape Orochimaru-ou. Such was his devotion to not marrying that freaky king/dictator. Simply heart-breaking and touching. Like a soap opera. But he didn't want to compare his life to some soap, even though it was startlingly like one, because if he did that, that would mean that he watched soaps. Which he didn't, by the way. His mother did. He just happened to be in the same room as her whenever she watched those tearjerkers. He only cried because every time he went inside that room, he'd always get something in his eye. No, he didn't also secretly watch soaps while he was with Orochimaru-ou. Orochimaru-ou was the one who liked watching soaps. He also just also happened to be in the same room as the snake king. Yeah.

Sasuke was a very manly man and would never do such girly things willingly.

He eventually stopped walking after an hour or so. Surely his _fiancé_ wouldn't find him so quickly. It was still... three fifty-five, according to his watch, in the morning. People went in his room at around six in the morning which gave him around two hours worth of rest. Good enough for him. Boy, were they in a shitload of surprise once they went inside his room. Orochimaru-ou would make a fit. And he had managed to escape on the day of their wedding, too. Of course he had planned to escape on this day. He always planned things. Well, most of them, anyway. He knew that this would create more frustration for _Kaimei-sama_. Bastard deserved it anyway.

Sasuke sat on a tree root and placed his bag beside him. He leaned his back on the huge trunk and sighed. So far so good. He got out of his bag a thermos which contained some good ol' green tea. This one had some medicinal perks to it since it was made by Oto-oukoku's best medic and Orochimaru-ou's number one wanna-be-concubine, Yakushi Kabuto.

Sasuke snickered, remembering the medic. Kabuto had obviously been jealous when he heard that Orochimaru-ou was going to marry him. The guy was seriously obsessed with the man. Would have even tried to kill Sasuke, too, if it wasn't that Orochimaru-ou _loved_ him so much. Keh. He would've preferred to die than to be liked by that dude. Didn't they know what _asexual_ meant?! Anyway, why hadn't Orochimaru-ou picked Itachi-kimi-niisan rather than he, Sasuke-kimi-otouto? Itachi-kimi was obviously more than a... _match_ for Orochimaru-ou. Sasuke rolled his eyes at that. As if Itachi-kimi, not to mention their kingdom, would willingly give himself up.

Sasuke drank some of the tea. Refreshing, calming, nice. Those were what the tea made him feel. And how he _should_ feel in order to have a much better journey. No way in hell was he going to Orochimaru-ou to come and marry him. Going home also wasn't an option since his father would only make him go back to Oto-oukoku.

Back then, Sasuke would do anything for Fugaku-ou. He loved his father to death. Though it seemed as if his father wasn't going to reciprocate any time soon. So, instead, he focused his love on Itachi-kimi who seemed to respond nicely. Oh, and let's not forget their mother, Mikoto-oukou.

He sighed. Life was much better this way. He was single and definitely not married to that snake-man, not to mention he was finally free. Hopefully it would stay that way. He closed his thermos, then put it back in his bag. He stood up and brushed his coat, which he had sat on, of the dirt as much as he could.

He needed to make sure that he really wouldn't marry that man. He'd much rather die than become Orochimaru-ou's _pet_. He wasn't like Kabuto. Heck, he didn't even _remotely_ liked Orochimaru-ou. He was far too creeped out by that man's odd habits and personality quirks to ever deem that man likable for him. Or marriage material.

The only possible way that he would ever agree to marry that man was if he was intoxicated, either with alcohol or with drugs. Of course, that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Orochimaru-ou was a smart man. Sasuke knew that the man would think of that eventually.

With his stronger-than-ever resolve, he trudged through the early morning bravely, not caring where he would wind up as long as there was no Orochimaru-ou or anybody whom he would be forced to marry.

_To be continued (unfortunately?)..._

* * *

Translations that are hopefully right : 

oukoku – kingdom or monarchy

ou – king

kimi – prince

oukou – queen

danna – what Deidara calls Sasori ; master or (informal) husband

sama – master ; a more formal term of address than -san

otouto – little / younger brother

* * *

Thank you for reading this somewhat insane story that spawned out of nowhere. If it isn't too much, please comment on it. If you find any mistakes, please do tell me. It would mean so much to me. 

Naruto will appear later on. Much later on.

On the next chapter, Neji's supposed to make an appearance. And Sasuke gets into another sticky predicament without even knowing it.


	2. Chapter 2

Warnings (seriously, you have to consider these) : Inanity, ramblings, forced humor (though if it doesn't seem forced to you... please do tell me as I am currently spazzing out), OOCness, and somewhat plotlessness. There are also Japanese words (there are translations at the end). An... overusage (?) of Japanese words.

* * *

Chapter 2 – Hyuuga-sama : Elf Crown Prince 

Hyuuga Neji was the heir to the elven crown, despite him merely being a nephew of the current king, Hyuuga Hiashi, and the said king having his own daughter, Hyuuga Hinata. She had never been one of those _ruler_ types. She was timid and preferred the quiet life. The life of a housewife. Hiashi-dono, being the understanding father that he was, well, understood her and let her be. Now, Hiashi-dono had another daughter who was younger than Hinata-hime, Hanabi-hime. But Hanabi-hime didn't want the throne. She preferred the wilderness over the paperwork and the dealing-with-the-elven-shit and all of that. Hiashi-dono, being the utterly compassionate man that he was, allowed her to do whatever she wanted to do with her life. And so, that was how Neji-sama became crown prince.

Neji-sama, at first, refused the offer. But Hiashi-dono had no other people of his lineage whom he could give his crown that he truly trusted to handle things as, or even more, efficiently and well as he did. After hearing that sob story, at least it looked like that when Hizashi-dono told it, Neji-sama took the job _willingly_. As willingly as someone who was being threatened with pointy objects and stuff more horrible than anything Tsukiyomi, which was some sort of powerful technique that Neji-sama heard from one of his servants that once went to human grounds, could dish out could. That had happened around two centuries ago. Neji-sama had gotten the hang of _crown prince_ during that long time. Well, except the go-get-a-consort thing which Hiashi-dono had thought up of just five decades ago.

Hiashi-dono was a patient man, but even anyone could get irritated after a half a century of Neji-sama rejecting every beautiful woman, and sometimes even the occasional man, presented to him. So he said, quote, "Neji, you are going to get married to the next thing that resembles us, or at least walks upright on two legs and has two arms, that passes through this land of ours", end quote.

Neji-sama had managed to make his minions fend off creatures away from the forest since then. Yeah, and there were also those elves that loved their crown prince very much. To the point of obsession, in fact. It had been a bit creepy, but Neji-sama had never been more glad to have them. They made sure that _no one_ ever got to the forest. At least to the part where Hiashi-dono or any of the guards or servants who did not have a romantic interest on Neji-sama could see them. But it just so happened that no one was anticipating Sasuke-kimi.

Sasuke-kimi had just gotten out of the Forest of Death and into another one. It was just one forest after another. When was there going to be a town or something? He would kill to have a bath and a nice bed. It had been around a week since he last bathed or slept on a bed with satin comforters and polyester blankets. He could smell himself and the smell was... horrible... It was killing his olfactory nerves. And his back might soon start to hurt from sleeping on logs or branches.

Knowing Sasuke-kimi's obvious blue blood, used figuratively, of course, he might be exaggerating a lot.

Shit! His back might become deformed!... Why did he care again? Oh, right, there was no doctor. And no Itachi-kimi-niisan to help him. Ugh! Stupid, stupid Orochimaru-ou. He really should burn in hell.

All of a sudden, he was hit on his nape with a lot of force. He, being merely a human who had been caught surprised, fell unconscious.

The hitter was none other than Hiashi-dono himself who had come out of the palace to take a walk. He was, obviously enough, very happy. Now Neji-sama would have a consort. Despite the consort being a male human being. And dirty and smelly. But Hiashi-dono could see that this human possessed at least _some_ looks. They just had to tidy him up to see how he really looked. Hopefully he'd be more handsome. Then maybe Neji-sama, the little narcissistic perfectionist, might consider.

* * *

Neji-sama was angry. No, wait, he was positively _livid_. He was going to _kill_ the ningen that managed to escape the people he had on the forest to take care of the strays there. But of course, it seemed as if Hiashi-dono had anticipated this and had the ningen stay in his own room. Stupid uncle! Not only did the man force him to be crown prince, but now he was also forcing him to marry this complete and utter stranger. A human at that. Neji-sama thought that this ningen he was going to marry had the face of a pig or something like that. Only _poor_ and _ugly_ ningen went through forests like theirs. Travelers. Then again, Neji-sama had a very high opinion of beautiful. 

And who was to blame him? He had satiny soft black-that-was-bordering-on-dark-brown hair and pretty white eyes that suggested of his royal, Hyuuga lineage. He had soft, perfect, and slightly tanned skin. His body was not too thin but not too buff. Just _perfect_. He was tall. His ears were Hyuuga ears which weren't a lot much like ordinary, pointed elf ears. Rather, they were like those of a human's. And like everything else about him, his ears were perfect. His lips were thin, yet were soft and looked kissable. Very kissable indeed.

Neji-sama was the epitome of graceful masculinity and the perfection of it. His beauty was ethereal. And he sometimes cursed this beauty of his. Because of it, people never fell in love with _him_, the real him. They fell in love with his face, with the radiance he emitted, with his beauty, with his strength. They only saw the superficial.

"Ah, Neji-kun, have you met your soon-to-be-consort?" Hiashi-dono asked with a smile.

Neji-sama shook his head. He didn't even know _what_ his soon-to-be-consort-but-hopefully-not looked like. He forced himself to be polite. This was his uncle, this was his king. They were in the hallway. Hiashi-dono was standing right beside his door while Neji-sama was going to Hiashi-dono's room.

It seemed as if this consort was male. If it was a female, Hiashi-dono would've just called _her_ a _wife_. Neji-sama was a smart boy. A very smart one indeed.

"He is in the bath nearest to my room," Hiashi-dono said. "It seemed as if he took things quite nicely compared to other humans who saw us up close."

It had been around fifteen minutes since the ningen left for the baths. Hiashi-dono purposely gave him the long cut so that Neji-sama would be the dear little crown prince that he was and guide his soon-to-be-consort to the aforementioned bath. Hopefully they could bond a bit. And hopefully Neji-sama wouldn't be a stubborn ass and that the ningen wouldn't be too overwhelmed of him... or answer back.

"Have you told him about his position?" Neji-sama asked.

"Iya, iya. I leave that to your hands... I believe that you might come to like him. Oh, and could you please check if he actually got to the bath? He might get lost. Or some of the servants might decide to play with him," Hiashi-dono said.

He could safely say that this ningen was quite a pretty thing. Not beautifully mature like Neji-sama, but cute, adorable. More so effeminate than Neji-sama. And Hiashi-dono was a great judge of beauty. After all, the Hyuuga _were_ beautiful people. No joking and no exaggerating. Even amidst other elves, who were already quite beautiful, their looks still stood out. Especially Neji-sama's.

Neji-sama bowed, a sign that he was willing to follow Hiashi-dono's order, and walked to where he thought the ningen could've gone to. He knew that it was the long way to the bath. Hiashi-dono, after all, was a devious, devious king.

Hiashi-dono's smile widened when Neji-sama left. Perhaps this was a good beginning then... And he had never tried to pair up with his dear nephew a ningen. He would like to see the results of this one.

* * *

The elven palace was, undoubtedly, a beautiful one that blended well with nature. It had gleaming wooden floor boards, sliding doors (some glazed, some paper, and some large ones that showed the view of and lead to the gardens outside), and it was wonderfully ornamented. There was not a spot of dirt nor a speck of dust to be seen. Truly a haven for the anal-retentive, automysophobic, mysophobic (or **miso**phobic), molysomophobic, myxophobic, and rupophobic. 

Sasuke sighed. Where the hell was that bathroom? How many more rooms and hallways and decorative stuff did he have to pass before he grasped that doorknob or handle that was the entrance to a heaven of warm water, scented oils, fragrant soaps, and user-friendly shampoo... or, at least, that was what the man or, rather, _elf_, which was what Sasuke noticed when he saw the two others with elven ears behind the man, who called himself Hyuuga Hiashi said. Being in the bath-needy state that he was, Sasuke wasn't in the mood to doubt or argue.

_Where the heck is that bathroom?_, he thought.

"I know a shorter way to the bathroom that you are looking for, ningen," someone behind him said.

He turned around and for the first time in centuries, dark gray met white-nearing-lavender. Sasuke blushed. Shit! He got caught looking like an idiot. A_ lost_ idiot. His Uchiha pride was being wounded once again. Damn it, were the males around him supposed to be more superior than him?!

Neji-sama could sense that this human was different. He had met humans before. All of them had blushed at seeing him because he was so beautiful and they wanted him so much. This human, however, was blushing because he was embarrassed. Yes, yes. A different one. _Perhaps I might even... no, I don't_, Neji-sama thought. There was no way he could possibly think that he was alright with the prospect of getting _married_ to this human, no matter how different or... or...

He also thought that he had been _very wrong_ in suspecting that this ningen was butt ugly. Yes, very wrong indeed. Damn, he actually felt a bit jealous. He could sense that that ningen had better skin than him, despite being dirty. Or perhaps it was just Neji.

Neji-sama had never been a hot-blooded male. Never. He had no time to lust over people or start silly trysts. He was a Hyuuga and he was going to be the king. His responsibilities overweighted his own wants and, sometimes, needs. And he certainly wasn't going to start acting like some hormonal teenager just because of this pretty and pink-at-the-moment human who seemed to like his pride very much.

Yes. Neji-sama would not go down that way. He was not so easily distracted. His will was as hard as diamond. Most importantly, he would not let Hiashi-dono win. He will be the ultimate winner of this twisted game of finding-Neji-sama-a-consort! He was, obviously enough, a very competitive man. Or elf. Whatever. Though he knew for a fact that his uncle was just as competitive as him.

"Follow me," Neji-sama said.

_Hey, what the heck... just as long as I get inside a tub_, Sasuke thought.

He followed Neji-sama through the many hallways, doors, windows, and ornaments. After half an hour of walking, Neji-sama stopped in front of a rather large sliding door and slid it open. Sasuke's eyes widened. What a pretty and huge bathroom! The bath tub was also very large. In fact, it was as big as an Olympic swimming pool. Not that Sasuke or anyone else there knew what the Olympics were or anything...

This bathroom was a godsend, for sure. It was everything Sasuke had ever wanted in a bathroom. It was beautiful and complete.

"Aren't you going to take a bath, ningen?" Neji asked.

Sasuke remained quiet, still impressed by the sheer beauty of the bathroom. Neji was beginning to wonder if this particular human was already in love with the bathroom. This wasn't anything impressive, there were other bathrooms exceedingly more beautiful than this one. Or were human bathrooms just so... ugly?

"This bathroom is _perfect_. I can't just _soil_ it," Sasuke said soon enough.

Neji sighed. What was wrong with this human? Or were the other humans just as weird, or even weirder, than this one?

"There are bathrooms more beautiful than this, ningen. Compared to them, this looks like a mud puddle," he said. "Since you're so enthralled with our baths, how about I take you to every single one I can after you take a bath. Frankly, you are quite smelly."

"Hold on to that promise, mister," Sasuke said.

"Are humans this easy to placate?"

"It's not _my_ fault I'm inclined to beauty. I'm pretty good at aesthetics, I'll have you know."

"I can tell," Neji said sarcastically.

Sasuke turned around only to glare at him. He merely stared back. He wasn't giving this ningen the satisfaction of seeing his irritation, of seeing any of his emotions. This ningen wasn't even worthy of being in the same room as elves, much less him, the elven crown prince. Ah, well, give the ningen some time and he'd learn to respect him. If Hiashi-dono got his way, this ningen would be his lifetime partner.

And, well, there was a small part of Neji that told him that it would be alright having this ningen, this boy as his consort. There was just _something_ about him. Perhaps it was because he didn't treat Neji like his fans. Perhaps it was because the ningen acted oddly to different kinds of things. Although this part of Neji was exceedingly small and he easily stamped out its voice. Much better. He didn't need to think that he was alright with this. He truly wasn't. He didn't want to be forced. Didn't want to be married. He was perfectly fine the way he was. Anyway, if he was to have a consort, he'd be the one looking. Or maybe his consort would find him.

Where the hell did he learn that seemingly romantic shit? Maybe he should stop reading those sappy, although quite well-written, romantic novels Hinata-hime read... Why was he even reading those in the first place?!

Sasuke turned his back to Neji when he saw that this staring match wouldn't be ending anytime soon and he was really itching for a bath now. In Neji's case, their little staring match ended in him getting a nice view of his soon-to-be-consort-but-truly-really-hopefully-not's posterior. And what a lovely posterior it was. He took the ningen's clothes and shoes, seeing as it was dirty and smelly and he wasn't that cruel to let someone who just bathed to wear such apparel, and walked away.

The elves in the court wore formal and traditional outfits. Neji himself was wearing a white kimono with black hakama pants, a white haori bearing the Hyuuga Clan symbol at the back, white tabi socks, and black zori sandals with a white strap. This ningen would also have to wear that. He would have to learn to conform to their rules and the rest of their norms if he was to be, though not that Neji was hoping that the ningen would be or that he was comfortable with that fact, his consort.

Lovely dark hues would probably do this ningen well. Neji was very picky when it came to clothes, even to the clothes of others. If they were going to be with him, they had to be presentable. Very presentable. Neji got out a dark blue haori, a black kimono and black hakama pants, black tabi socks, and black zori sandals with a dark blue strap. Of course, there was no Hyuuga symbol on the back of this haori. Neji was very specific as to what people wore. Only those of the Hyuuga lineage would wear outfits with the Hyuuga symbol.

He took his time in getting back to the bathroom where he left the ningen, seeing as it was such a wonderful night outside what with the fireflies and all. The sakura were in full bloom, too. Nature's beauty was always the best.

Oddly enough, that soon-to-be-consort-but-hopefully-not of his reminded him of the night.

* * *

He and the ningen were now walking to where the dining room was. Or, to be more exact, Neji was taking long strides and Sasuke was jogging to catch up with him. Yes, that and the dining room was merely the dining room for tonight's dinner. 

Sasuke had always thought that large places with too many rooms was silly and impractical. In fact, he didn't memorize any of the palaces he had gone to, even the ones that his family owned. The only paths that he memorized were those that concerned his room, the assigned dining room, the throne room, the main entrance, and the emergency exits, which were also somewhat known and identified as the windows.

He also thought that this person, who was Neji but he didn't know that the elven prince's name was Neji, disliked him. This was, at least in Sasuke's point of view, the first time they had ever met. What had he done to irk that guy? Though perhaps he was just like that. That was how Itachi-kimi-niisan was viewed by the people. An ice cube. A devilishly handsome ice cube at that. Yes, the other guy was, indeed, quite handsome. If he had been any other lesser being, Sasuke would've said that the other guy was _very_ handsome. But Sasuke was Sasuke. He failed to see from beyond the asexual point of view.

Neji was very irked. Not because his soon-to-be-consort-but-hopefully-not was a royal pain in the ass. Rather, it was because Sasuke was not as ugly as he had hoped to be. No, no. This little ningen was no ordinary traveler. Had Hiashi-dono really found this guy on the forest trail? _Impossible_! Unless, of course, the ningen was actually a prince and ran away from his home. Though that would also be impossible seeing as ningen princes had been trained to like whatever shit was thrown at them. Like evil engagements and atrocious peace treaties.

The two of them soon arrived at the dining room. The luxurious dining room. Polished wooden floors, simple yet wonderfully elegant chandeliers hanging on the ceiling, a well-varnished ashen table laden with mouth-watering food and delicious beverages, and comfy-looking pillow-like objects that one sat on. The traditional dining room of royalty.

Hiashi-dono was sitting on the far end. Hanabi-hime was sitting on his left. Hinata-hime was sitting on his right with her husband and child sitting beside her. Neji took his usual place on the table, that one being opposite of Hiashi-dono who made Sasuke sit beside him.

Hinata-hime smiled at him. She had always been gentle. Neji liked her more than secretly sly Hiashi-dono and as-tough-as-nails Hanabi-hime. But right now... right now he loathed her. He knew what that smile meant. That was her approval of his new consort candidate. And she didn't give her approval everyday. Hinata-hime was someone with great intuition. She could tell if they were going to be together, they would be happy. She may have smiled a couple of times before, but she had never smiled quite like that at someone outside of their family. Like the way she was smiling right now.

Hanabi-hime also seemed to approve since her lips weren't curled in disgust in the least bit and her white eyes did not harden even more. Neji knew then that his family was a hundred percent okay with this guy.

Stupid ningen.

That was the exact moment Sasuke felt the air around him grow even more tense. He looked at the one sitting right next to him, who would be Neji but, as said before, he still didn't know the elf's name was Neji. That guy, whatever his name was, sure looked serious. Or constipated. Sasuke would chuckle if the atmosphere was lighter _on this side of the table_, but it wasn't.

* * *

Translations that are hopefully right : 

dono – mister ; is said to be very formal ; mostly used in addressing people on an envelope (_tono_ would actually fit much more than _dono_...)

hime – princess

o/niisan – big / older brother

ningen – human

kun – used in addressing younger boys or boys in general

iya – something like "no"

haori – formal coat

hakama – a man's formal divided skirt ; or... well... _pants_... formal ones

tabi – (utter redundancy on _tabi socks_... it just sounded right) socks with the split toe

zori – flat sandals (or something like that)... for sure, they're not the type that you see old Japanese men in anime wearing... it's easier to walk in zori than that one

* * *

Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter, namely, **Kaikouken**, **Dragon77**, and **colgate.advanced.fresh**.

Thank you, yet again, for taking the time to read this. Please do comment. If there are any mistakes to be found, please don't hesitate to point them out.

On the next chapter, Sasuke finally finds out about the engagement.


	3. Chapter 3

The same warnings apply. Oh, and perhaps the NejiSasu also deserves some warning. It will tip to the NejiSasu side for a bit.

* * *

Chapter 3 – Engagement: The Escape

It had been around a week since Sasuke appeared in Hiashi-dono's forest. Life there was wonderful, peaceful, he noted. Much unlike his previous home, Orochimaru-ou's palace. Though his dislike for that place might be because he was going to get engaged to some old fart. Yes, definitely because of Orochimaru-ou. Because of his engagement to that snake-loving freak, Itachi-niisan became somewhat _cold_ to him. Sasuke would pick his brother's devotion over that weirdo's libido any day. Who'd want to be molested twenty-four-seven anyway? Definitely not Sasuke.

Speaking about dearest Orochimaru-ou, it seemed as if he already issued search parties, thinking that someone had kidnapped Sasuke. As if anybody would even dare to do that. Apart from the fact that Orochimaru-ou possessed a lot of power, it was also well-known in the kingdom, and its neighbors, that the fragile-looking Sasuke-kimi was one hell of a fighter. Appearances were, indeed, very deceiving. Who could've guessed that that boy who had such as slender build could demolish a boulder four times bigger than him or something as equally as powerful and threatening as that.

Hiashi-dono and everyone else had been very good guests. Except Neji and some of his fans who gave glares every now and then. Sasuke really didn't know what was their problem. It wasn't as if he did something to tick them off... didn't he? Well, at least he hadn't done anything consciously and willingly. Technically, they had no right to be mad at him if that was the case. And, of course, that _was_ the case, but he didn't know that.

Not yet, that is. Hiashi-dono was thinking of telling their _guest_ about why they, the honorable elven folk, took him in so graciously. In fact, he was thinking of telling Sasuke this night, during dinner. Engagement announcements were always best said during the evening. It was kind of tradition for elves to do those things during evenings anyway. Evenings had that romantic effect that mornings could only hope to have on people. Apart from that, Neji was also a much more agreeable person during the night, as most elves were.

It was so funny that Sasuke escaped from his previous engagement only to unwittingly get into another one. It seemed like he was just fated to marry someone. The life of an asexual bastard was not the life, as the gods and ever sadistic Fate dictated, for someone as drop-dead gorgeous as him. But he could care less about what they thought, so they merely decided to put him into more silly, engagement predicaments.

Neji knew that his uncle would be breaking the news to the ningen this dinner. His uncle himself told him. And so, seeing as he couldn't stop the inevitable from happening, he decided to spend the rest of the few hours of his single-social-state alone in his room, slightly moping for the true love that he didn't find and probably will never find because of that stupid ningen.

Well, at least Neji wouldn't be spending the every single day of his immortal life with that obviously mortal soon-to-be-consort-but-truly-really-hopefully-not of his. He allowed himself that small consolation. At least that would happen if his uncle wouldn't immortalize the ningen, which he probably would knowing Hiashi-dono's sly and slightly sadistic nature.

He slid open one of his balcony doors and stepped out. His room had a spectacular view of the sun when it was setting. The sky was slowly turning from peach to orange to red to light blue, and finally, to a darker shade of blue which eventually evolved into black. The stars were exceptionally pretty today. Neji knew that nature, especially the skies, was fond of mocking him. Too bad that he couldn't do anything to retaliate. He was stuck on the ground after all. Dinner was near. He could feel one of the servants near his room. Probably there to tell him to go to the dining room of the day. It was then that he felt that he really couldn't do anything to alter his fate. To stop himself into marrying into what was going to be a loveless relationship.

And Neji was a closet romantic.

* * *

"Today's the day that Sasuke-san will be officially a part of, well, sort of, our family, Hanabi-chan," Hinata-hime said. "Aren't you excited?" 

The two siblings where in Hanabi-hime's room, conversing on the wooden floor with their feet dangling from it. The shouji were open, thus explaining why their feet were dangling. They looked out to the beautiful garden. The night was wonderful. Befitting for the engagement news. And Hinata-hime was obviously excited at the prospect of having a new family member. She was sure that Sasuke-san would be able to make Neji-niisama happy, vice versa. She knew that the two of them would definitely fall in love someday.

If that did happen, their love story would most likely be one of the most romantic ones in history, Hinata-hime was sure. Quite exciting indeed.

Hiashi-chichiue also seemed rather happy with the couple. He seemed to be very fond of Sasuke-san, even though the ones close to him could notice that. It was obvious to Hinata-hime that he really did want the little ningen to rule their elven lands with Neji-niisama. He would most likely make the ningen immortal, like them.

Hanabi-hime may not be a romantic like Hinata-hime, but she was pretty excited as to what would happen. She was just dying to see what Neji-niisama would look like. She knew that she'd get some nasty kicks from the unveiling that would happen during dinner. And Uchi-gaki might also look surprised since he didn't seem to favor Neji-niisama seeing as the latter would always act unfavorably towards the former.

"Hai, aneki," Hanabi-hime said.

"Chichiue also seems ecstatic," Hinata-hime said. "And I'm sure that things will work out for Neji-niisama and Sasuke-san. Don't you think so, too?"

Hinata-hime had always been the politer and soft-spoken of the two of them. Hanabi-hime tended to be more _rough and tough_. Which was just as well. A little variety didn't hurt. Besides, they weren't going to be the center of attention nowadays. It was going to be about their Neji-niisama and Sasuke-san. It was going to be all about those two.

"Doudemo ii," she replied.

There were two curt knocks on the wooden part of Hanabi-hime's main shoji. The two of them faced the shoji and could see the silhouette of a woman. A servant, most likely. They were the only women – apart from Hanabi-hime, Hinata-hime, and their ladies-in-waiting who had been given a day off today for the simple reason of the engagement announcement, despite it not being a public event – in the palace.

"Dinner is ready now, Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama," the woman said.

It was now time. Hopefully the ningen would take the engagement well. It would be beneficial to both of them. It would be beneficial for Neji-niisama, most especially. Perhaps this ningen would teach him how to truly live life. It might seem impossible, but maybe they could even teach each other how to love the other. Anything _could_ happen nowadays.

* * *

Sasuke sneezed as the captain of the palace guards, whom he had befriended a bit, led him to the dining room. He had been sneezing quite a few times now. Sixteen, to be more exact. And consecutively. The captain had said that that was quite peculiar seeing as the palace was immaculately clean. 

The captain had gray hair and dark-colored eyes. His ears were also, strangely enough since the Hyuuga were the only elves known to have those ears, human-like. The lower half of his face was covered by a dark-colored cloth while his left eye was covered by an equally dark-colored bandanna of sorts. He wore the palace guards' insignia, which was attached to a white, bandage-like cloth on the upper part of his right arm. He wore a black kimono and black hakama. His katana could be found on his obi. He was Hatake Kakashi. And right now, he was also donning a smirk, even though it was unseen seeing as the lower part of his face, as mentioned before, was covered.

"Looks like someone's talking about you, Sasuke-kun," he said.

"Hn. Probably," Sasuke said, "then again, I don't believe in those stuff."

"Lighten up a bit, will you, kiddo? It's not as if the world's going to end soon. And you sure don't look like you're going to drop dead any second now."

"Urusai zo."

Hatake-zieichou merely chuckled as Sasuke glared at him. With the way they were acting, it seemed as if they'd known each other for quite a long time now. Hatake-zieichou had been best friends with one of Sasuke's relatives and had actually met Sasuke back then, when the latter was still a toddler, but the boy didn't need to know that.

Then again, maybe he already knew. The Uchiha were known for their notorious memory, be it visual, sound, or hearing. Quite a disadvantage for the opposing side in whatever king's court or high court. Although the kid _was_ still in his early developing stages. It was impossible that he'd already acquired that level of memory.

* * *

The air around Neji, Sasuke noted, was tenser than the usual. Hiashi-dono also seemed to be more jovial than the usual and Hinata-hime's smiles were warmer, while that smirk on Hanabi-hime's face was more mischievous. Something was up. Maybe kind Hinata-hime or Hatake-zieichou would tell him later what it was. Or perhaps he didn't need to wait until after dinner to find out. 

This _something_ obviously had something to do with Neji. That guy was always more... _himself_ if anything that happened had anything to do with him. Especially anything not nice. Sasuke understood that the guy needed to keep his I'm-holier-than-thou-shalt-ever-be appearance since he was the elf crown prince.

Though that didn't mean that a lot of not-so-nice things happened to Neji. Sasuke had only heard of some rumors from the passing servants and Hanabi-hime who was most likely just mocking Neji. Well, at least she only told those things if Neji was actually within hearing age. Behind all that, Sasuke could see that the two truly loved each other. As family, of course. Sasuke thought that the two of them weren't the type to _fall in love_. Hanabi-hime was tomboyish and was in love with adventure. Neji was in love with himself. Or something that went like that.

The food was laid out and Hiashi-dono cleared his throat. All eyes were suddenly at him. The servants, who were outside and could hear that and were also attracted to Neji, were mentally crying. Their chances were now being whisked away by some _ningen_. Outrageous! It was _unfair_, dammit, _unfair_!

Then again, no matter what happened, they wouldn't be able to have a chance with the elven crown prince anyway. They weren't royalty and Neji didn't like any of them.

"I have something very important to say," Hiashi-dono started, "something which you, Sasuke-san, are the only one at this table that is unaware of."

Oh, so it had something to do with him. Sasuke was now all ears.

"There is a reason why we have kept you here and not let you go to fend off for yourself all alone," Hiashi-dono said. "This reason is that you are to be the consort of Neji."

... And Sasuke fain-- er, fell down unconscious. Neji gripped on his hashi far too hard, causing them to break with a very audible snap, what will all the silence and such.

"He sure took it well," Hanabi-hime wryly said.

Hiashi-dono sighed. He hadn't expected _that_ reaction. But perhaps Sasuke was excited...? Right. It was good to look on the bright side of things. He snapped his fingers and Hatake-zieichou was standing beside him with a poof and a puff which, amazingly enough, did not make Hiashi-dono cough like there was no tomorrow.

"What do you want, Hiashi-sama?" Hatake-zieichou asked while looking at Sasuke with amusement in his eyes. He already had an inkling of what he was going to be ordered.

"Carry Sasuke-san to his room. Today has been a very... exciting day," Hiashi-dono said.

Hatake-zieichou nodded.

* * *

Sasuke wanted to tear his hair. What did he do to receive these things?! Wasn't there a reason why he _left_ Oto-oukoku? Were the gods against him? Did those aforementioned gods not understand that he was fucking asexual?! 

He was sitting on his bed with Hatake-zieichou sitting on an armchair near his bed. The man was also smirking. Or at least Sasuke could feel the smirk since, after all, three-fourths of that man's face was covered, including the mouth.

"I don't like this, not at all," Sasuke muttered to himself.

"What's _not_ to like?" Hatake-zieichou asked.

"I don't want to get married or something like that."

"So you're afraid of getting married?" a chuckle was heard. "You could tell that to Hiashi-sama and they'd hold the wedding while you're asleep."

Sasuke growled. That was _so_ not funny. Hatake-zieichou raised his hands in defense. It wasn't as if he was scared of the little Uchiha. No. Quite the opposite. Who could be afraid of that cute I'm-gonna-freaking-castrate-you face that the young little Uchiha was making? Hatake-zieichou just loved to humor people, which Sasuke knew and was probably already seething because he knew that Hatake-zieichou wasn't really taking him seriously.

He stood up and immediately began packing, despite Hatake-zieichou being in Hiashi-dono's employment and would most likely stop him from leaving. Whatever. He was so desperate to escape that he didn't care about what would happen next. He was not giving up without a fight. He was not going to get married to anyone. Not _ever_. Besides, he and Neji barely knew each other.

"You're going to escape," Hatake-zieichou said when Sasuke made a move to step out of the room via its _back_ shouji and into the garden.

Sasuke looked at him with a glare, though its purpose was severely lost as his eyes only reached the back of the armchair and a few wisps of gray hair, seeing as Hatake-zieichou was still sitting on it.

"And you're not going to stop me," he said.

"You know, I used to be a fortune teller," Hatake-zieichou cheerfully said as he rose from his chair. "And I predict that someone will be joining in your journey. Come out, Neji-sama. I can sense you."

Indeed, the main shouji of the room opened and Neji stepped inside, closing the door as soon as he went in. He was clutching his own baggage. It seemed as if he, too, was also going to run away. Sasuke shot him a glare and he glared back.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't like it here. I know that as soon as you escape, I'll just be pulled into one engagement into the other. I don't want that kind of life," Neji said, "so I'm running away, too. And I thought that since you were running away, too, we could team up. So that if any of my kin see us, we could just tell them that we're _bonding_. To see if we're really ready for marriage, but in reality, we'll just keep on going away."

"Smart plan," Hatake-zieichou. "And I'm surprised you told your plan with me in here."

"You wouldn't tell Hiashi-sama. You won't. At least as long as nobody knows that you were the last one to see us."

"True, true. You may go. Yoitabiwo!"

"I don't want to go with you!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"If the elves from our side see you, they'll bring you back, no matter how reluctant they are. However, if we're both together, we'll be safe," Neji said. "Or is that small human brain of yours too small to comprehend what I'm saying?"

Sasuke bristled, huffed, and just walked away. It was obvious that Neji had won the round. Hatake-zieichou smirked under the cloth that covered his mouth. The _couple_ also felt that smirk. Both glared at him.

And so, that was how Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji both became reluctant travel buddies. Desperate times really do bring about odd alliances. Or something like that.

* * *

The translations that are hopefully right : 

san – mister or miss

chan – a term of endearment usually used for girls and / or children

shouji – paper sliding door

o / niisama – more formal form of older brother

chichiue – more polite form of father ; how Neji, to name one, refers to his father

gaki – brat ; what Tsunade calls Naruto

hai – yes

aneki – elder sister

doudemo ii – not worth worrying about ; whatever you do is okay

katana – sword ; blade

urusai – noisy ; loud

zo – it indicates command (put two and two together and you get _shut up_...)

zieichou – captain of the guard

yoitabiwo – have a nice trip

* * *

Thank you to all those who read this and reviewed the last chapters (and perhaps would also review for this chapter). And thank you, too, to everyone who commented on the translations from the last chapter. I actually did consult a Japanese dictionary for them just to check if I really was wrong... 

Please don't hesitate to point out any mistakes (especially in the translations since I'm not at all that good with romaji -- I mean, they're all bunched together -- so, um, please help me with the romaji). Comments will be much appreciated.

On the next chapter Naruto and Gaara make their much awaited (at least it is for Naruto) appearance.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Naruto-kamaboko and Gaara-kumaneko : Demons of the Sea

It had been two weeks since Sasuke and Neji escaped from the elven lands that Hiashi-dono was king of. It had been four days since they found themselves in a port village. It had been two days since Sasuke found himself working in an inn and Neji in a store that sold tea. They had been a bit worried about spending too much of their money and running out of it, so they'd decided to get jobs and go traveling once again as soon as they were satisfied with the amount that they had, or if any of the people they were trying to avoid found them or were in the village.

Every now and then, they would argue, but it was only natural. They were, after all, Neji and Sasuke. It would seem rather odd if they _didn't_ argue. They also looked cute whenever they got into their spats. They looked like a married couple or something. Although, not one person had ever told them that lest they wanted an early grave. Which they didn't.

They already knew how dangerous Neji and Sasuke could be. Their fights, whenever it escalated into a physical one, would result in both of them being bruised, wounded, and a wee bit bloody. It was actually a surprise to many that those two hadn't been rushed off to some medic yet. Many speculated, because of that, that perhaps the two were actually medics and healed their own bruises. There were many possibilities and the ones that the villagers picked were all wrong.

* * *

Today was Neji's day-off. It was nighttime, too. Today, the village was also particularly noisy. It seemed as if a ship had just made its appearance and its crew was probably roaming the village. That was how things were whenever a ship came. Sasuke didn't like it when ships came, despite the money it brought with it. One of the reasons was the intense noise. Another would be the increase in orders, making him even more hassled than he already was to begin with. The inn was quite popular and many already frequented it during normal days. 

Not to mention more people meant more chances of his location being found out by Orochimaru-ou, the man who started this whole thing in the first place. Sasuke certainly wouldn't be on the run right now if it wasn't for that perverted, bastard pedophile of a king who had issues with snakes and power. Hopefully nobody who came inside the inn would know him and his royal heritage. Well, at least no one who would report to Orochimaru-ou.

On the other hand, Neji had a secret, childish love of ships and the sea. He liked the idea of sailing and going to other places. Being the elven crown prince meant that he wasn't allowed to go anywhere except the places inside palace grounds and other palaces. He was rarely out in the wild unlike Hanabi-hime. But he'd never tell Sasuke that. The boy would probably laugh at him or something. He'd like it much more if _he_ was the one laughing at the boy. Usually, that was the case. Like what was happening right now.

He was laughing at poor Sasuke's dilemma while sitting at one of the counter chairs, wanting to be just a stone's throw away from orders. He didn't need any incompetent _waiter_ to come to his table and serve his food which had probably already gone cold.

The boy looked a wee bit frazzled. His hair was slightly out of its impeccable, and rather odd, too, style. His eyebrows furrowed a bit. His mouth was in a deeper frown that it usually was. Then again... the boy pouted, not frowned. His clothes were very slightly disheveled, making it look like the uniform of the other waiters. But his was still undoubtedly cleaner. Neji had to admit, the guy was anal-retentive. He liked it better that way. He didn't like dirt, too. He associated dirt with slum scum. Uncultured, illiterate, disgusting. If Sasuke was like that, he wouldn't even be traveling with him. Neji still thought like royalty despite not being in the palace. It wasn't his fault. That was how he was raised, after all, and he'd been subjected to the environment for a millennium or so.

Another reason why he didn't want to sit on the other tables was that the people sitting there were rougher and tougher and dirtier, and definitely more rude, than those sitting at the counter. Less fights occurred at the counter. Less mess, less hassle, less everything. More peace, though. Although if he truly wanted peace, for the sake of meditation and all that, he would've gone to the room he and Sasuke shared. He would've really gone there if it wasn't for the fact that the man residing in the room next to them got back to his room with his arm around the waist of a woman.

The man was around the place for going to pleasure houses or employing prostitutes. He was also known for picking wild and loud women, which would also mean that he himself was loud and wild. Neji certainly wouldn't be getting any peace at his room. Hopefully they wouldn't have _sessions_ during the night. It would be most bothersome.

Neji took a bite of his food. It was okonomiyaki, a food that he was becoming partial to. The first..._ commoner_ food he had that he would admit, to himself only though, he liked. Or... he could stand eating. Sasuke had shoved it in his mouth not to gracefully on their second day in the village because, as Sasuke had said, the Hyuuga was being a picky prick and should eat whatever was in front of him.

Neji often had to wonder what was the boy's social status before he became a traveler. It was obvious that there was grace there, but there was also that sort of bluntness that non-royalty possessed. That daring attitude and such. Oh, well, Neji could care less about that.

The small bells attached to the front door rang, signifying new patrons and more work for Sasuke seeing as he had just finished taking up the order of his customers and it seemed as if everyone else was being their imbecilic selves. He glared at Neji who merely smiled at him. The least the idiot could do was get an apron and help even if he wasn't a worker here. This was still for their traveling money, after all.

The new customers sat themselves beside the window and Sasuke approached them. When he did, he was met by foreigners. Or at least that's what they seemed to Sasuke since they sure didn't look like they were from around here.

There were two of them. One had tanned skin. He had spiky, or perhaps even shaggy, bright yellow hair and equally bright blue eyes. He had three diagonal scars on both of his cheeks. He had this happy aura around him. So happy that Sasuke could puke. He didn't do happy and never will. So perhaps that it was rather good that he got stuck with someone like Neji who wasn't _really_ happy nor was he _really_ sad. Or something like that.

The other one had pale skin that was a bit darker than Sasuke's. He had blood red hair and pale green eyes. Kohl outlined his eyes. Perhaps they were dark rings. Sasuke really couldn't tell. This one seemed dangerous. The opposite of blondie.

Sasuke handed them menus, all the while thinking _why_ an inn had menus.

Blondie grinned at him, showing him his longer than the usual canines. Wow. Could one person be more animalistic, yet still look like a semi-decent person, than that guy? He even had those whisker-like scars on his cheeks.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto, what's yours?" he cheerfully asked.

Neji quirked an eyebrow. Now that sounded familiar. Very familiar. He looked at the duo that just entered the store. Those two looked very familiar indeed. Now where had he seen them before? It wasn't usual for him to forget names of faces he remembered.

"I don't give my names to strangers, dolt," Sasuke said. "You should, too."

"You shouldn't treat your customers like that," Naruto said. "Because if you do, they'll go away."

"Customers don't usually ask the names of the ones waiting for their orders, so who are you to talk about what I'm supposed to do or not. You should follow the norms."

"I'd like a Long Island Iced Tea and a yakitori meal," the redhead said all of a sudden. "And I apologize for my companion."

Sasuke jotted down the order. One down.

"Anything else?" he said.

He abhorred using forms of respect. Of course, there were some cases where even he had to admit that someone was higher than him.

Naruto grinned even more. He liked the kid. There was just something about him... Putting aside the fact that he was gorgeous and all. Kaze Gaara, the redhead, mentally sighed when he saw that grin. That was not a good sign.

"I'd like ya, kiddo!" Naruto happily proclaimed.

Sasuke was a bit confused at that. And_ kiddo_?!Then he began to get annoyed, still not knowing what the blond's order was or if he was going to order at all.

"And _I_ would like it if you just gave me your order so that I can get on with my life," Sasuke said. "I still have a lot of people to go to, you know."

"You don't get me!"

One of Sasuke's finely shaped eyebrows rose. What was there to get? Suddenly, the blond grabbed his hand and put an arm around his shoulders. The small notebook and pen Sasuke held fell to the ground. Then he felt a tongue on his earlobe. What. The. Fucking. Hell?! He could feel the smirk on blondie's lips as he squirmed, trying to get away. But damn, was blondie's hold strong.

Neji's eyes widened at that. Now he remembered. How could he not after seeing that? Those two... they used to play with him back when he was a child. Kyuubi and Shukaku, two of the legendary group of demons, Bijuu. They were also known as Uzumaki Naruto and Kaze Gaara. And Naruto was a pervert, a flirter, and a charmer. He was also bisexual and attracted only to extremely beautiful people. He was a picky one and not many caught his eye. But obviously... Sasuke did.

Neji already knew from the beginning that Sasuke attracted a lot of things, albeit reluctantly or unknowingly. Trouble would be one of those things. Being as insanely cute as that guy was a lot of trouble indeed. Then again, it wasn't as if Neji didn't have his fair share of beauty-induced trouble.

"Let me rephrase it then," Naruto breathed into Sasuke's ear, making the latter squirm even more violently. "I'm ordering you."

The next thing Naruto knew, a fist hit his cheek hard. He let go of his cute little captive who, indeed, owned that fist that gave the powerful hit. Owie. A large purple bruise was already forming on his right cheek.

It had been the first time in years since Naruto truly dropped his guard down. Even when he was all cheerful and stuff, nobody had ever been able to hurt him. But then, there was this mere human that came along and punched nearly the daylights out of him. Gaara was surprised. Naruto was _this_ taken with that little human? And they just met a few minutes ago. Hyuuga certainly had the tendency to make the oddest of acquaintances.

Neji smirked when he saw what happened to Naruto. It looked quite funny to him.

"His name's Sasuke," he said, which made Sasuke glare at him. His smirk grew in size.

"That's what you get when you go all perverted on strangers," Gaara remarked, then he looked at Neji. "And nice seeing you again, Hyuuga-kun. It's been a while."

Neji nodded. It had been a while since he saw his... playmates. A millennium, to be more exact. Yes, it indeed had been quite a while. What a reunion this was turning out to be.

"Su-su-suke-be!" Sasuke exclaimed.

Neji looked at the other people inside the establishment. Yup. They were still merry. Probably weren't looking at Naruto and Sasuke because they were far too drunk and indulged in their fun to care about other matters, which was all good. The last thing Sasuke needed, based on what Neji observed when the boy's feathers were more ruffled than the usual, was a crowd of gossiping idiots.

"You sure are the little prude," Naruto remarked.

People normally didn't react that way to his advances. They usually loved it when he did it. Obviously enough, he was one sexy beast. Everyone just _had_ to love him. Or lust for him. Either way worked well for him. Rarely had anyone rejected him or acted violently towards whatever he did. Maybe that guy had something serious going on with Neji. Naruto kinda envied the guy. Having Neji all to himself...

Naruto liked Neji a lot. Sure, he liked a lot of people, but he liked him most of all. He had been the first to treat him normally, apart from Gaara and certain others who were the same as his kind. He may have had relationships with other people, but Neji would always hold a special place in his heart. If Neji showed any type of affection towards him, Naruto would dump whoever was with him and gladly commence a relationship. He would do anything within his power, and perhaps even more, for Neji.

But then, this little kid. He was making Naruto feel something for him, too. Which was odd. Perhaps it was because this kid was utterly adorable. He had that cute and trying-to-not-be-innocent-but-he-really-was vibes. Neji used to have those vibes. Now, Neji had a different feel around him. Not that Naruto was complaining or anything. He would love Neji no matter what. Even if Neji didn't even fucking love him. Because that was just the way Naruto was. Hopelessly stubborn and selfless... a bit only, though. And perhaps only for Neji. Maybe he could make an exception for this kid, too.

"PRUDE?!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Anybody would do that if someone was _harassing_ them!"

"Stop teasing him, Naruto," Gaara said. "You already have enough bad karma as it is."

Naruto pouted. His karma was not bad. It was... fair. He was still alive. That should be enough proof of how fair his karma was to him. Gaara was just being the meanie that he was.

"Seriously, blondie, do you have an order or not?" Sasuke asked, picking up his pen and notebook from the ground. "We're busy."

More people were still going inside the inn and it wasn't helping his patience one bit. He had other customers to cater to and this blond idiot was wasting his precious working time.

Naruto sighed. He would've liked to play some more with this interesting human. Then he grinned. There would be a lot of time for that. Gaara didn't like that grin. It was a foreboding sign... yet again.

"Orange juice and steak meal!" Naruto cheerfully proclaimed.

Sasuke rose an eyebrow, not able to refrain himself from doing so. What was that guy? Six-years-old or something? He was just happy that they wouldn't be meeting any time soon after the guy got his order. With that knowledge, Sasuke walked away to serve the other customers and relay their orders to the cooks.

"I think you made him awkward," Gaara commented after their waiter left.

Naruto happily nodded while he hummed a tune he'd heard somewhere in their journey. That was the idea. To make the kid awkward because he looked cuter when he was. Oh Naruto was such a sadist, and he loved it and subtly pranced it around. Appearances could be very deceiving indeed.

Gaara merely gave a look, the one that said you're-such-a-hopeless-idiot, before staring outside the window. It really was dark outside, not to mention the fact that it seemed like it was going to rain any time soon seemed to help the aura around him. Then again, he was just a small part of the world. It didn't mean that just because he was sad, the world would stop moving for him.

He hated rainy days. Bad things happened during rainy days. He was also weaker during rainy days.

Naruto, on the contrary, loved rainy days. Loved to prance in the rain and proclaim his utter gayness. What the meaning of gayness there was something debatable though. Gaara could never get that guy. Always smiling even when he was under pain. It was as if the only emotion he knew was happiness. Then again, Gaara didn't want to see him angry. Anybody with his disposition must have a very horrible side when he was angry. All those pent-up emotions and all.

_Just how many things do you hide from the world?_, Gaara thought as he briefly glanced at the grinning blond who was trying to coax Neji to join their table.

Gaara knew that the blond's efforts were in vain. Neji didn't like being caught in trouble. He avoided it as much as he could. Being with Naruto instantly meant trouble. It was a fact of life that nobody could ever _ever_ fail to notice. Unless, of course, they were really dumb or naïve or something like that. Being with Naruto was also fun. Being with Naruto made people complete because he was filled with life to the brim. It was ironic, really. Was there anything in the world that wasn't? Probably not. At least that was how Gaara saw it.

Then again, he had never had a positive outlook in life. Pessimistic people were more than often more ready than optimistic idiots who wasted their lives in just believing and doing their best even if it was obvious that they could never achieve what they wanted. Some things were just impossible. There was always a limit, always a number of times one could break their limit. Creatures were made to fail.

Gaara really hated rainy days.

"C'mon Neji! It won't kill you to just come here and eat with us!" Naruto shouted over the din of the inn. "It's been such a while since we saw each other! You owe me a greeting! You greeted Gaara-puu so why not me, too?!"

Gaara whacked him. He made rainy days better since he was the king of distraction.

"Stop talking like a girl," Gaara said. "People might think stuff. It also doesn't help that you're a pervert."

"I'm not a pervert, Gaara-tan," Naruto said. "I'm a super pervert!"

The blond's brain had finally been buried ten feet under. Gaara knew that having an infamous erotica writer as one of their companions was bad. Naruto had never been the best of influences, but even he was better than Jiraiya.

Neji just made a new mantra. _**I am not acquainted with them, I do not know them, I have never met them before, I will just look away calmly, I will not go to them and knock some sense into that blond, I will not cheer on the redhead... okay, Neji, we can do this**_. He wasn't even sure if that still _was_ a mantra. It seemed too long. They weren't just a bunch of words or phrases. It seemed like some sort of sentence. Maybe it was a pep talk of sorts. How funny.

Sasuke sat beside Neji. The other waiters had already taken the rest of the customers while he was with Naruto and Gaara. Perhaps that blond kid had saved him from more work and headaches. It had been such a long time since he got to sit down.

"How'd you meet those two?" he asked. "I never thought that you were the type to mingle with idiots like the blond guy."

"I'm not," Neji said. "I was a kid. It's a long story."

"And none of us have all the time in the world. I'm assuming that you were stupid when you were younger. Then again, aren't you stupid right now?"

Neji frowned. Sasuke just had the best of comebacks. The sarcasm in the air was seriously going to choke someone someday. Neji wished that if it was to choke someone, it would be Sasuke and Naruto and the rest of the noisy and obstinate inn patrons.

"They're not normal, too, aren't they?" Sasuke asked.

"You sure are talkative and curious today," Neji commented. "Have they drugged you? I sure hope the effects don't last long."

"Thank you for your concern. I appreciate it. Really."

Sasuke was sarcastic, too, so maybe he wouldn't get choked because he was far too used to it already. _Too bad_, Neji thought. And he'd been planning Sasuke's burial, too. Such a pity. The color scheme and the coffin he'd thought of would've fitted Sasuke quite well.

"But I guess you could say that," Neji said. "They aren't normal. Not one bit."

Sasuke already had a feeling that those two didn't quite fit in, much like in the way Neji couldn't fit in. The blond especially stood out if one only took the time to notice it. His whisker-like scars were far too straight and well-aligned for it to have been caused by just some accident or fight. It was unnatural. But nobody would pay attention to those things. Naruto's personality was rather distracting. He was far too bubbly and bright. He was so full of life. It annoyed Sasuke.

Neji was a bit surprised that Sasuke had guessed that those two weren't real humans. Then again, it seemed as if the kid had some sort of sixth sense for odd things. It took one to know one, and Sasuke was certainly odd himself.

"In what way?" Sasuke asked.

"They're demons," Neji said, "and legendary ones at that."

"Oh."

Neji glanced at Sasuke. It definitely did take one to know one. Wasn't that boy the least bit surprised at that? It wasn't everyday that somebody said that they were serving demons.

"I wish that my shift would end," Sasuke said.

And that was his other response? There wasn't even an aftershock. No symptoms of post trauma. _Just leave it to me to get the weirdest of companions_, Neji thought.

"Something is wrong with you, ningen," Neji said, then he took a sip of his water.

Sasuke glared at Neji. Just when they'd fallen into something that they could call a decent conversation, at least it seemed like that for him, that white-eyed freak of an elf had to insult him. If anyone knew how to kill a friendly mood, it was Neji.

"What's your problem?" Sasuke asked.

Neji raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's _your_ problem?" Neji asked. "I was merely stating a fact."

"You sure should be one talking, you pupil-less effeminate weirdo," Sasuke said.

"I do have pupils, they just have the same color as my irises. I am also in no way an effeminate man... unlike you."

"I... hate you."

"The feeling is mutual. Would you quiet down? I'm starting to get a headache."

Sasuke glared at him even more before walking away. Duty was calling in the form of a woman that was well on her way to being wonderfully intoxicated. Neji let out a small smirk. Riling Sasuke was so easy. Not to mention fun. It surely was one of his favorite pastimes ever since they'd _eloped_.

Perhaps this became his favorite thing to do because he wasn't quite acquainted to the fact of someone being irritated at him or even hating him. At the palace, he was pampered and praised. Everybody would do what he said without any hesitation. Anything for the pretty and powerful Neji-sama. Sasuke was rather different from the people he'd grown used to. The boy was predictable in the way that he was unpredictable. It sounded rather odd, but it made a lot of sense to Neji.

"Neji seems to be a lot more happier these days, you know," Gaara said nonchalantly.

"So he does," Naruto said as he looked out of the window.

Neji really did look happier. Was it all because of that kid? Sure, Naruto was already fond of the little prince, but still. No matter what, Neji would always be first and frankly, that kid really was stealing his chances of getting together with the white-eyed wonder. He was jealous. So jealous. It hurt, too. Because he knew that he wouldn't do anything to stop Neji from liking the kid. What Neji wanted, he would get, even if it broke Naruto's heart.

Life was rather unfair. That kid didn't look like he'd known Neji for a long period, yet he had already managed to capture a part of the elusive Neji's heart. What was so special about him? Magic didn't work on Neji. The guy was an elf and they were impervious to magic, having been around it ever since they were born. If Naruto was that kid, would Neji have fallen in love with him? If he had confessed back then, would Neji reciprocate his feelings? If that... if that kid didn't appear, would Neji be as happy as he looked like right now? There were a lot of things that Naruto wished that he could've done. Was this the signal that he should move on?

Loving Neji was something he liked. Neji was easy to love if one looked at the Neji hidden underneath those pearly eyes. Naruto had looked past those barriers that he'd put around himself and Naruto had liked what he saw. He _loved_ what he saw. It would be so hard to let go of someone he'd never even had in the first place. It would be so hard to just give up because he wasn't accustomed to giving up. But this time, it looked like he would have to learn how to unless he really wanted his heart broken.

This kid. Did he even see that Neji? What did Neji see in him that couldn't be seen in Naruto?

Gaara glanced at Naruto, then he took a long look at the kid, and finally, he focused his look on Neji who didn't seem to notice as he was thinking deeply on something. He knew that Naruto loved Neji. It was so obvious for him. Maybe because he'd known Naruto for a long time and he'd been able to take a peek inside those bright blue eyes. Neji had been able to do that, but he didn't know. Naruto had always been his true self when he was with Neji, but the latter didn't even know. And they called him the genius of the Hyuuga Clan.

Then Naruto looked at Gaara and grinned. There was no use moping around. At least that was what Naruto thought. Gaara might notice that he was sad and become worried. He didn't want people being worried for his sake.

_Silly demon_, Gaara thought when Naruto smiled at him, _I already know that you're hurting_. But he decided to play along.

"I wonder when our food will arrive," Naruto said. "I'm very hungry. I hope that it's good... You think that they sell ramen around here?"

"You've already ordered something, so don't go around looking for ramen," Gaara said. "That thing's not healthy for you if you eat too much."

Naruto was a ramen addict. Gaara didn't know why. The blond had so many luxuries at his disposal yet he picked ramen out of all of the expensive food he could have. It was so odd. It was so foolish. It was so... Naruto in a way.

The blond pouted. Naturally, he didn't care if it was healthy or not. He was running after the taste. Besides, demons couldn't be hurt by unhealthy foods. They weren't sensitive like humans. Or had they been hanging around far too many humans that Gaara sometimes forgot that they weren't like them? Impossible. Gaara wouldn't forget. _Couldn't_ forget.

Just when Naruto was about to retort, the main door of the inn slammed open. The rain and the wind quickly made their entrance. That sure shut up everyone. They looked at the door only to see a blur. The aforementioned _blur_ stopped in front of Naruto and Gaara. Naruto grinned at the blur who was actually a person.

He had shaggy brown hair, beady black eyes, and two red upside-down triangles on his cheeks. He was wearing a rather large coat with a hood that had come off with all the running he was doing and boots. Underneath the coat was a white sleeveless shirt that went past his mid-thighs and dirty brown pants. Sure, there were many other things inside the coat, but they were far too many to be counted or named. His name was Inuzuka Kiba, part of the crew of the infamous _Konoha_, a pirate ship known for their amazing piracy. No ship could escape their clutches. They ruled the seas and the oceans. Oddly enough, all of the people that encountered them couldn't describe them. It was as if they had forgotten the faces of the pirates.

It was rumored that the pirates of Konoha weren't normal humans or that they weren't humans at all.

"What's the matter Kiba?" Naruto asked. "You look like you've been chased by dogs."

At that, Naruto chuckled and Kiba scowled. The latter was notorious for loving dogs. It was like Naruto and ramen.

"Har har, very funny," Kiba said.

"I know," Naruto said. "I'm a natural, aren't I?"

Kiba rolled his eyes. Then his face turned serious. Naruto quirked an eyebrow. That look usually didn't mean good.

"Cap'n, Gaara-sama" Kiba started. Naruto now knew that he meant business because Kiba hardly called him _cap'n_ or _captain_ or any of that stuff unless what he was going to tell was something that Naruto would most likely not like. Everyone else respected Gaara so that was no uncommon occurrence, someone calling him _Gaara-sama_, "people are on to us again."

Konoha, however, did not scare everybody. There were actually a lot of brave bounty hunters after their heads. Or alliances of bounty hunters. Or the police themselves.

"How many?" Naruto asked, inwardly cursing at whoever those people were. He hadn't even gotten his order.

"Three bounty groups and one police group," Kiba said. "It's the worst this month. I think someone tipped them off. Or they have a spy. Prolly in one of those villages we stopped in last time."

"From where is the police group?" Naruto asked.

"Oto. They're getting desperate."

Sasuke's ears twitched. He happened to be serving the table next to them. Oto. That didn't mean good for him. If those people happened to find him, it would be good-bye freedom, hello awful snake husband. He tensed at that idea. At that utterly horrible idea. He knew then that he needed to get away from this place. Stupid trouble-magnet blond. He had to think of an idea that would make Neji want to leave this place. He could leave the guy, but they were engaged and if the elves saw him without Neji, they would probably capture him and stuff.

He hadn't told Neji about his life. The royal life. Therefore, Neji didn't know about Orochimaru. He wouldn't even believe anyway.

Naruto's already quirked eyebrow rose even more when he saw Sasuke's shoulders raise a bit and his ears prick when Kiba said "Oto." Was the kid running away from Oto? That sure was interesting. What exactly was his relation to that kingdom anyway? Was he some sort of criminal there? If he was a criminal, what was Neji doing with him? Come to think of it... what was Neji doing outside his own kingdom? Perhaps there really was more to that kid than there was.

Time to do some snooping around then. Naruto style. Of course, that meant that his _snooping around_ wouldn't be really snooping around because he would be doing it in a painfully blunt way.

"Hey, Sasuke, I've got another order!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke winced and he turned around to glare at him who was donning an innocent smile on his face. Sasuke went to where he was, a scowl on his mouth. He wasn't three miles away from them or anything. He was just on the _next_ table. That idiot didn't need to yell so loudly.

"What is it?" he asked.

Naruto's face suddenly turned serious which made Sasuke wonder what his order was. Or if it was an order.

"What's your connection to Oto?" he asked.

Sasuke's eyes widened. Did the blond... did he know about the engagement to Orochimaru?

Gaara and Kiba looked at Sasuke. Now why would Naruto ask that to that guy? Unless he was keeping something from them. Well, they would know soon anyway.

"You're not from Oto... are you?" he asked warily.

Naruto shook his head. Sasuke pursed his lips. Then why did that blond suspect that he had anything to do with Oto?

"Just wanted to know something," Naruto said. "So what's your connection to Oto? You some criminal or something? You on the death row?"

Sasuke's eyebrows rose. Did he look like someone on the death row? Then again... appearances could be quite deceiving. But really, did he give out homicidal vibes? Well, aside from those that he sent Neji and some annoying people, which would account nearly every person that had met him.

"Do you even have any proof that I am associated with Oto?" he asked.

"Well, your question before that should be enough proof," Naruto said.

Sasuke wanted to hit himself. How idiotic could he have been? He should've first assumed that maybe that idiot was just guessing. He shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. How was he going to get out of this one now? He could always tell a lie... Yes, that would be the best option for him. Good thing he had adequate acting skills.

He sighed.

"Okay," he said. Naruto's ears perked up with excitement, "you got me. I do have some past with Oto, but I'm no criminal. I used to be one of the rebels from there."

"You're lying," Naruto said.

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. He should play it cool. Maybe that guy was just guessing again.

"You don't look like someone from the rebellion," Naruto said.

"Do you have any proof?" Sasuke asked.

"You don't look like you've had a hard life. Your face is too pretty for that stuff. A face like that is something Orochimaru-ou would like."

Sasuke stiffened for a moment. Barely even a second had passed, in fact. But Naruto had quick eyes. Besides, the kid was very near. He knew then that he was right. That kid _was_ connected to Oto. To Orochimaru, to be more exact. What precisely was their relationship, though, was another thing entirely. He decided to prod some more.

"You know... we've been hearing lots of stuff about Orochimaru-ou's wedding," he said. "The _canceled _wedding. He was absolutely livid at the guards. They let the person that he was going to marry, some prince – yeah, I know, odd, a prince and not a princess... I think he just has this penchant for beautiful things – get away or get abducted or something like that."

Sasuke was inwardly panicking. Blondie was getting on to him. Shit. Maybe he really did know after all.

Neji's ears were twitching. He'd been listening for quite a while now. Well, he'd been listening from the beginning. Naruto wasn't one to order again before he got his food. Besides, there was something in the tone of voice that he used. Neji had really good ears, exceptionally good even for an elf. Elves had superb hearing.

Besides, Sasuke sure seemed rather... touchy about that matter. Maybe he'd get to know more about that boy that almost became his consort. Naruto sure seemed to know something about the boy.

If only Sasuke and Neji knew. Naruto didn't know a single thing. He was just one very very lucky guy. He was also rather intuitive. His gut feeling had never failed him before, so he trusted it very much. He was now paying the fruits of listening to himself. It sure seemed like he was on the right track.

"Hey, Kiba, what was the name of the prince again?" he asked.

Kiba shrugged. "All I know is that he's an Uchiha," he said afterwards.

Naruto hummed a bit at that. Sasuke closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"What do you really want?" he asked. "If you're working with Orochimaru, can't you just let me slip away? If you were in my position, would you want to marry some guy that has megalomania, seems to have a snake fetish, and is a pedophile?"

Naruto blinked. Wait. So... was Sasuke confessing that he was the Uchiha prince that Orochimaru was supposed to marry? He did _not_ expect that. He thought that Sasuke was some sort of official in Oto or a concubine or something like that, but not the one who was actually going to get hitched.

Neji blinked, too. That was something unexpected. He then looked at Naruto's table. Come to think of it, he had it coming. Sasuke sure didn't seem like someone poor despite those mannerisms of his. Though he sure didn't seem one hundred percent royalty.

"You're that Uchiha-kimi that was going to be Orochimaru's bride or something?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke blinked. Blondie sure seemed surprised.

"I thought you knew," Sasuke said.

"I was only guessing! I never thought that you were the prince, something lower maybe..." Naruto said, trailing off at the end.

Sasuke guessed that it really was a good thing that the inn was noisy and incessantly at that. Otherwise, his secret would be out and he might be dragged back to Oto which was something he did not want happening.

"He could actually be beneficial," Kiba said, "as ransom."

Gaara shook his head.

"And want Orochimaru to chase after us even more?" he asked. "That man would think that we've hurt his possessions. Once he's acquired the Uchiha, he'll go after us. We'd have no chance of escape if he really meant it."

Naruto nodded at that. Gaara did have a point. Orochimaru was one sneaky bastard that way. It seemed as if they had gotten into more trouble by meeting this kid. They could just abandon him. But surely he _could_ be of some service to them. He could be rather useful. Besides, it seemed as if Neji was rather chummy with him. If they had the kid, they had Neji. Naruto sometimes allowed himself to be selfish. It wasn't as if he was selfish all the time anyway.

"I say, we take him with us," he said, "for protection. We'll tell Orochi that we're going to inflict a lot of pain on his little... _wife_, if he plans on going against us."

Sasuke bristled. He was not a woman and he definitely wasn't Orochimaru's _wife_. He now decided that he loathed the blond, so he turned around and started to walk away. He had a reason anyway. Obviously, the guy wasn't going to order so he had to tend to the other customers. It really was a busy night. Although the other waiters did have the rest of the tables covered by now...

Before he could go to any other table and pretend that he was _waiting _on them, his eyes met with Neji's pearly ones. He could see the question in them. Had Neji heard him? Impossible, right? He was so far away and all... Then again, he was an elf. He might have these freaky powers that gave him super senses or something like that. Or his freaky powers _were_ super senses.

"Oi oi oi! Where are you going Suke?!" Naruto asked loudly.

Sasuke winced. Yet again, it wasn't as if he was hundreds of feet away from the guy. He'd barely even gotten four steps away from that troublesome table. Maybe the blond had hearing problems or something. Or he really was just an unabashedly loud person.

Sasuke kept on walking. Damn the blond. He didn't need to listen to him. He wasn't a slave for crying out loud. _Although you are a waiter_, he thought. He quickly disposed of that thought though. He walked to where Neji was and sat beside him. He needed to talk this, meaning the whole deal with Orochimaru, through with his traveling buddy. At least he was spared from thinking up of a lie.

"You're royalty then?" Neji asked as soon was Sasuke was snug on his chosen seat.

Sasuke nodded his head. Neji calmly took a sip of whatever drink he'd ordered. Sasuke could care less about the drink, unless it was something alcoholic. Then again, he'd never seen a drunk Neji before. Maybe it would be fun. He would've thought that maybe it was fun if it wasn't for the fact that people from Oto might come bursting in at any moment because of the blond and whatever illegal thing he was caught up in.

"We need to go now," Sasuke said.

"I figured that we would need to do that since if you were caught, that would beat the purpose of escaping in the first place," Neji said.

Sasuke glared at him. He was being oddly kind today.

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke asked.

Neji sighed and rose an eyebrow at him.

"I can perfectly understand your situation, too," Neji said. "We just escaped from a wedding, didn't we?"

"Still, you're being freakishly kind," Sasuke said. "I have every reason to wonder about that."

"Please. I can be kind, too. Don't insult me."

"You can't have everything in the world. Apparently, kindness is one of the things that you can't have when you're around me, therefore, I have to assume that you're a very mean person that doesn't care in the least what would happen to me if we didn't cross paths or if I didn't become your _life partner_."

Neji rose an eyebrow once again.

"Wouldn't you do the same?" he asked.

"I didn't say that I wouldn't," Sasuke said.

"Touché."

"Are you actually admitting defeat? I knew it... you're an impostor."

"No, I'm not. Admitting defeat and admitting that there was some damage done are two very different things."

Sasuke huffed. He loathed the way Neji managed to wiggle himself out of defeat. That stupid sore loser. Would it kill him if he let Sasuke win for once? Not that he had won or anything. Their arguments usually ended in a stalemate. Or they got interrupted by someone or something which was the case most of the time.

Then he felt a presence behind him. Neji had felt that one minutes ago. Not to mention, he'd seen it coming ever since Sasuke came to sit behind him. Sasuke whirled around only to meet blue eyes. Naruto.

"As the captain of _Konoha_, I'm kidnapping you," he said with a grin on his face. "And you can come, too, Neji."

Neji shrugged. Whatever was fine with him. Besides, this was Naruto. Neji doubted that the blond's overprotective nature when it came to his friends had changed. Sure it had been ages since they last saw each other, but he just had a feeling that that one personality of Naruto, the one that he remembered the most, would never _ever_ change. Because Naruto was so determined and strong. He had a big heart, too.

"Wha--?!" Sasuke started to stay.

Before he could finish that one word, the world went black for him. Naruto's grin widened as Sasuke fell into his arms. Then he looked at Neji, his eyes twinkling more than the usual--

"You're going to love it with us," he said cheerfully. "Being a pirate is so cool!"

And Neji hadn't noticed it in the least. But Naruto was used to that. Neji didn't notice a lot of things when it came to people in love. He didn't understand love. Well, now Naruto had a chance to show him what love was. The second chance. He wouldn't fail this time. He was now gaining on the kid on the race to Neji's heart. He wouldn't fail. He didn't want to fail. Now that he had a chance... for sure...

* * *

Translations that are hopefully right : 

kamaboko – fish paste ; naruto is a type of kamaboko

kumaneko – panda

okonomiyaki – savory pancake with various ingredients

yakitori – grilled chicken

bijuu – tailed demons/beasts

sukebe – pervert (I could be wrong about this one though...)

puu – is used by girls on people that they admire or crush on (I could also be wrong on this one)

tan – it's a sort of mispronunciation by children of "chan" if I'm correct... it's seen as cute and endearing

* * *

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and read the last chapter. And also to those who put the story in their faves and their alerts. 

Of course, thank you also to those who have read this chapter. Comments are much appreciated. Please do tell if I've made any mistakes, any at all.

It might be a bit of a while before I update on this again since school will be starting next week for me. So, um, please do be patient...


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